Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB2418 by Raney (Relating to the creation of an additional judicial district composed of Brazos County.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB2418, As Introduced : a negative impact of ($423,024) through the biennium ending August 31, 2025.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2024
($211,512)
2025
($211,512)
2026
($211,512)
2027
($211,512)
2028
($211,512)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2023
2024
($211,512)
1.0
2025
($211,512)
1.0
2026
($211,512)
1.0
2027
($211,512)
1.0
2028
($211,512)
1.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would create the 472nd Judicial District, composed solely of Brazos County, with the primary responsibility for cases involving civil matters, family law matters, and juvenile matters. The bill would create the 472nd Judicial District on September 1, 2023.
Methodology
State judicial compensation is traditionally met through a mix of General Revenue and Judicial Fund No. 573 funding; however, for the past several fiscal years Judicial Fund No. 573 revenues have not been sufficient to meet all judicial salary obligations. Due to this, General Revenue funding has been used to meet the remaining obligations. Therefore, this estimate assumes General Revenue funding would be needed to cover the full state obligations for these provisions.
Section 659.012 of the Government Code sets the district judge salary at the amount set in the General Appropriations Act but no less than $140,000. This analysis assumes a salary for a district judge with 0-4 years of experience ($140,000). Costs reflected in the table above include $211,512 each fiscal year to cover the salary, benefits ($69,412), and payroll contributions ($2,100) for one district judge.
Local Government Impact
The bill would require local governments to pay operating costs associated with the creation of the district court.
Source Agencies:
212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts